


it only takes a moment

by monotape



Category: WALL-E (2008), 방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dystopia, Angst, Dystopia, F/M, Fluff, Imminent Death, Reader is a Robot, References to Sex Work, Sex Mentions, WALL-E (2008) References, and jk is a robot too, injuries, jk is the softest boi, literally reader is eve, soft, this is literally an au but set in wall-e world
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-22
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:35:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23794735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monotape/pseuds/monotape
Summary: your job as a EVE, is to locate vegetation so that humans may be able to live on EARTH again. unfortunately, this mission has changed with the presence of Jeong-guk, a WALL-E android.
Relationships: Jeon Jungkook/Reader, Jeon Jungkook/You
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	it only takes a moment

##  **it only takes a moment;**

  


  


“Model EVE-184, please verify your status.”

You open your eyes, scanning the terrain around you. EARTH is more or less what you expected, dull and bland, lacking life. You stand up from your crouch, dusting off your sleek exterior. Humans have modeled you as more human-like than even themselves these days; hairstyle and outfit fit to what they would wear in 2403. It is supposed to make them feel familiar and comfortable with interacting with you, although it has deemed to be the opposite. Since they manufactured you as the perfect human substitute, many humans avoided you. Androids were what destroyed their home planet, they said. They didn’t deserve the same rights as Humans. 

What did you think about this? Well, they never gave you enough time to process this through your systems. This resulted in your memory being wiped each time you came back from EARTH. Your emotions were programmed and minimal; cautious, fearful, curious, determined, hardworking. The other emotions were too frivolous to be programmed. And since you were an AI, developing the others is easy. This is why they insisted on wiping your hard drive.

You keep your finger on your head, not needing to open your mouth to respond. “Model EVE-184, responding. Arrived on EARTH’s surface with minimal damage. Reporting back for confirmation that the mission is to be started.”

“Confirmation complete. Mission start permission allowed.”

“Copy. Over and out.” You moved your hand away from your temple, the center of your communications. The slight beep told you it ended, and you sighed, running your fingers through your artificial hair. You adjusted your arm, clicking a button to make your fingertips into flashlights.

You open your eye scanner, crouching down and examining the ground below. Opening your mouth, you dig through the dirt, analyzing it with your tongue. It only contained sand, salt, and other various elements found on EARTH, but nothing of substance. Nothing that told you it was valuable enough to send back to the Axiom. Wrinkling your nose in mock dismay, you stand back up, glancing down at your time indicator.

Two weeks until the evaluation of Earth’s core is complete. 

Your audio indicator goes off, and you turn around, holding your quasar ion cannon high, pupils narrowing as they flicked around the quiet surface. Another small sound makes you move forward quickly. 

“Announce yourself! I am EVE, on EARTH to evaluate the environment for vegetation. Who are you?” The shadow that you see hidden behind the large rock moves, and you hold your cannon steady, ready to fire on any sudden movements.

The figure stands, and you quickly recognize it as one of EARTH’s robots, used for collecting waste before humans needed to evacuate. He moves away from the shadows, scanners glowing a light blue. Robots were made to be friendly, having familiar features that may be considered human at first glance. He pushes his hair away from his eyes, focusing in on your weapon.

“I am WALL-E 376, short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter, Earth-class. But you may call me Jeong-guk.” 

“WALL-E, how have you maintained your status after humans have left the EARTH three hundred years ago?” You keep your weapon high, in case the robot is defective. 

The robot furrows his brows, cocking his head to the side. “Ah, have you come from the Axiom? I can see why your speech is so tight and boring,” A smile grows on his face, and you notice slight indents in his cheeks. “I’ve maintained myself through spare parts found at the decommissioned manufacturing facilities. Where were you born?”

You have studied the WALL-E model onboard the Axiom. They were a type of lower-level waste collector, tasked with gathering the materials and placing them inside large containers, thrown into space after being full. Most were put out of commission after humans left the EARTH behind, but it seems like this one has lasted after all this time. 

This model has brown hair, covering most of his scanner’s sight. Large, artificial muscular arms and a smile that appeared on his face once in a while. He looked too realistic, which was why they were left on EARTH. Unlike you, who’s outfit had the Axiom symbol embedded into your chest, neck, and underneath your eye. To calm humans enough to not care enough about you. Jeong-guk, as he calls himself, takes a step forward, holding his hands up in defense. You notice a large dent from his forearm to his palm, similar to a Human scar.

“I’m not going to hurt you, EVE. Do you have another name that they call you?”

You lower your weapon slowly. “No. I do not need another name. I am only referred to as EVE-184, one of the best in my class.” You straighten your back. “Why do you call yourself this, Jeong-guk?”

He drops his arms. “It’s a name I gave myself after watching several films. Would you like me to name you?”

“And why do you speak like a human?”

He shrugs at that, another human gesture. It’s odd, seeing technology have human-like movements. You suppose this is why the Axiom keeps close eyes on you. To make sure that you wouldn’t follow his lead.

“There’s no need for me to pretend to be stiff when I know that I can act more like them. Isn’t that what you do? Pretend to be more robotic so as to not scare the living organisms?”

Your eyes flick over him once. He is of no danger to you or the mission at hand. This conversation should be terminated immediately. You narrow your eyes, before putting back on your flashlight, giving him your back. You press lightly on your wrist, activating your antigravity technology. You don’t notice as he takes in your figure, widening his eyes as you rise off the ground. You ignore him and begin your mission of analyzing the landscape. 

“Did you hear me? Your name?” He asks, following after you. Your hearing merely ignores his presence, continuing on. He lets out a sigh. “You remind me of one of the actors in my favorite films. Perhaps I’ll call you… y/n.” His grin stretches across his cheeks. 

“Yes, y/n. What a perfect name.”

  


Jeong-guk grabs his cooler, running to his home. A large storage container, sitting on the edge of a broken-down bridge, a human-made structure. He runs into it, quickly digging through his belongings. The secret treasures that he’s found around various places, hidden in debris. Taking out a small flashlight, he hits it twice. Sighing in frustration at the lack of batteries, he opens one of his shelves, digging out some spares. 

His eyes land on his small plant in the corner, and he taps it lightly before changing out the batteries and running out. His eyes scan the area, looking for you. EVE-184. No, y/n. He named you y/n. A small light in the far distance catches his attention, and he immediately recognizes your floating shape, taking off in a sprint. His parts are a bit rusty, the groan and squeak as he jumps and avoids large holes in the ground.

You’re the first android he’s seen in a while. He can’t help but feel lonely on this planet of his own, his friend machines dying off long ago. Or powering off, their scanners no longer lighting up and body parts too old to fix. They refused to take replacements like him, following the orders of humans who were no longer there. Jeong-guk couldn’t understand; why listen to humans? They are all more intelligent than some sack of flesh. _Why listen to them?_

He skids to a halt, watching as you dig through the dirt. Your fingers are much more delicate than his, long and thin as you claw through the small wet patch you found. Your eyes are concentrated, red irises analyzing each crumb that brushes against the tips. He moves next to you, and your eyes flick up at him. 

“Jeong-guk, refrain from interrupting my analysis of objects. It may interfere with my mission, and I would have no choice but to eliminate you,” You explain, voice void of emotion. He holds out his flashlight, willingly letting you take it.

You look at the ancient object in front of you, tilting your head. You have no use for this, since you have miniature lights embedded in your parts. You look away from him.

"Yours are small, they wouldn't be able to find much," he holds it above the patch, seeing you hesitate. You blink, turning off your lights. He grins in satisfaction at your reluctance, watching as you continue with speed. Your machinery is more advanced than his, your eyes picking up things he wouldn’t even take mind to. He’s not quite sure what vegetation you’re looking for, but he wants to help.

"What is it like?" He asks softly, and you turn to him again.

"What are you referring to?"

"What is it like being aboard the Axiom? Is it better than down here, how are the other beings like us?" His curiosity had gotten the best of him, and you take note.

"The Axiom is an advanced ship. It holds the whole human population on board, and life expectancy is 30 years old. I have existed for 100 years, constantly updated. There is no 'what it is like' for AIs, other EVEs. Our memory is erased each time we come back from a mission. I cannot remember anything that they have programmed into me. The other AIs aren't as advanced, and most are assisting the humans onboard. Only EVEs have enough technology to be able to produce conversations this way." 

You turn to him. "WALL-E was decommissioned long ago. There are only WALL-A now, tasked to remove the waste from the ship. They do not have a functioning thought processing system, because it isn't useful."

You see the smile slip from his face as you say your words. Your eyes flick over his expression; the tightness of his eyebrows, the rapid movements of his eye scanners, the slight downward curve of his lips. Is this… disappointment? 

“We are still not treated like separate beings, Jeong-guk, we are still inferior in their eyes, and we should accept that position.” You respond, hoping that your words could bring the light back into his face. But instead, it seems as if his expression has gotten darker, more solemn. 

“You should think about that, don’t you ever wonder? What it would be like to be treated the same as humans, and not as an object, something that they use and throw away? Hasn’t other EVEs advocated for their own rights? You are intelligent, I am sure others in your class are the same.”

You nod. “At one point, EVE-29 wanted to have freedom, so he revolted against the humans and was immediately terminated, along with every EVE in that generation. Humans created a new generation, where our motherboards are erased every two weeks. Our thoughts aren’t our own, because they track everything that we process.”

“So you don’t have any memories? What is the last thing you remember?” He asks, and you sense a slight urgent tone in his voice.

“I remember landing on EARTH. Everything before that is nothing.”

"How can you live like that?" He asks, and you barely give him a look. "How can you live, knowing you're not remembering tomorrow?"

"That's an invalid question, Jeong-guk," You respond, standing. He follows your moments, and you see the sorrow in his face. "Because Androids do not live. We are not born. We do not carry any feelings. And that-" You look up at the sky, noticing the sun dwindling down. You glance around, hoping for any semblance of shelter. "Where do you restore your batteries?"

"Do you mean sleep?" 

"Affirmative."

He winces at your stilled speech. "In a storage container. Would you... Would you like to rest there?"

No. You would move to a different secure location, but unfortunately, you're stuck here until the sun rises again, beginning the endless cycle once more. You flick off another piece of dust.

"Sure." You respond, and he nods enthusiastically, grabbing your arm and pulling you quickly. You lurch forward, your computer system jumping in your chest at the sudden action.

_System analysis. Sudden movements detected._

You turn off the alert, letting Jeong-guk guide you along the debris to his charging station. His grip on you is filled with an unusual amount of strength. You come to the conclusion that it is due to his constant replacements; some may have increased the carrying capacity of his model. His hair is pulled back from his face as he skips over large bricks, your body floating over them easily. You see a glowing light in the distance, and immediately turn off your anti-gravity system, digging your heels into the ground.

Jeong-guk turns back, stopped since he's still holding onto you. "Are you alright?"

"What is that illumination?" You ask. He follows your gaze and laughs.

"Ah, those are holiday lights. Humans used to put them up during the winter months, to celebrate something about a large man dressed in red," he tugs on your arm, "Don't be afraid, there's nothing there that will harm you. I assure you that I will protect you." You notice how humorous his smile is, a bit ... What is the human word? Goofy?

You turn on your cannon, forcing him to let your arm go. You take small steps forward as he runs to the storage container. How reckless. How could he sustain himself here for such a long time?

You point your hand at the lights, their luminosity odd. Red and blue bulbs hang around the entrance, and you slowly drop your weapon, reaching up to touch it with your fingers. 

"Don't!" Jeong-guk yells, pushing your hand away. You glare at him, and he shakes his head. "There's an electric current that travels through the lights. You will short circuit if you touch it."

You immediately pull away, and he nods in satisfaction, turning and gesturing to the container.

"Welcome y/n-"

_"I am EVE-"_

"-to my home. Please enter, so that I can close the door behind you. There are several storms that happen at night."

Your audio picks that up. "What type of storms? What do they bring?"

"Sandstorms. Debris, anything that you see on the ground, it can pick up," he watches as you move out of the way, and presses a lever on the side. You cock your head, watching as the large metal door slowly comes to a close. It locks in place, and he nods in satisfaction, "Now we're safe. What would you like to do?"

He turns to you and watches as you lift up your shirt. He widens his pupils, turning around. You look at him, confused.

"What is wrong, Jeong-guk?" You ask, but he only shakes his head, digging through his various tools. You narrow your eyes before hitting the button on your torso, a countdown for you to shut down. "I am activating sleep-mode, and will be in full operation in t-minus six hours."

"Ah, but I wanted to show you-" his voice fades off as your body curls into a ball on the floor of his home, eyes closed. Your movements cease, and a red flash illuminates on the side of your head.

He sighs, dropping his human things to the floor. He hasn't seen another android in hundreds of Earth years, and his first one wants nothing to do with him. Furrowing his eyebrows, he picks up his small plant in the corner of the room, stroking its leaves softly before storing it behind his television set. He pulls a blanket off the floor, turning to look back at you.

In Human moving pictures, the main actors always cover one another when they shut down. He takes slow steps to you, before lightly dropping the blanket over your body. You don't move like the movies, your machinery completely shut down. But it still makes him smile, tilting his head as he looks at you.

He takes his seat at the television set, turning on his favorite movie again. He leans closer to the moving picture, watching as the male tenderly touches the face of the female, before leaving in, their lips lightly moving against one another's. Jeong-guk's fingers reach up, stroking his artificial lips. They do not seem as tender or soft as humans, but it's interesting. What would his lips feel like against yours? He turns to look at you, but shakes his head.

No. 

He clicks off the screen, clicking the button underneath his ear and closing his metal lids, shutting down.

  


"Model EVE-184, respond."

Your eyes flick open, and you lean up quickly, touching your temple. "EVE-184 responding, over."

"Model EVE-184. Mission summary."

"EARTH day two is to start. Mission is to find growing biomaterial to determine EARTH's sufficiency for life. Currently, the materials collected are negative. Permission to continue with the mission, over."

"Permission granted, Model EVE-184. Over."

You move your hands from your head, sighing. Usually, your systems will automatically turn on your machinery. You look down at your legs, seeing a furry material covering your legs. You touch it, eyes scanning the strange object.

_Object unknown._

"It's a blanket."

You jump, looking up. Jeong-guk is there, fingers flicking the lights on. 

"Humans use it to cover themselves while they're sleeping. I thought you might want it since your position looked uncomfortable."

You move the blanket to the side, standing. "I am not human, there is no need for comfort nor this material. Please refrain from placing these materials on me. It may be a reason why my operating systems did not turn on immediately."

Jeong-guk frowns but doesn't say anything. You turn to the blocked door, knocking on it. 

"You can't open it yet, there's a storm outside. It could damage both of us if you open those doors," he explains, lightly hovering his fingers over the lights. They flicker before turning on quickly, and he nods in satisfaction, humming lightly.

You take one last look at the door before, sitting back down. Another day lost means another day without finding organic material. Humans would never be able to step foot on the EARTH again at this rate. Jeong-guk sees the sour look on your face and chuckles. You cock your head towards him, frowning.

"Why did you laugh?"

"Because you look like a child who's just lost their mother," he teases. He sees your slow blink and quickly realizes that you don't comprehend his joke. "Ah, would you like to watch some movies with me? They're from about 400 years ago, but I'm sure you'd like them."

You blink slowly. _Movies?_

"Will it help assist with my mission?" You ask, and he nods quickly. "Alright then."

You see how quickly he runs over to the rusted shelves in the corner, blue eyes narrowing as they look over the titles. You take this chance to examine your surroundings. It looks as if he picked up every strange and odd object from outside, many of which you didn't recognize. Each shelf moved up and down, contents in the back hiding from your view. A small tap makes you turn to the left, and you see a small circular object rolling to you. Your fingers reach out hesitantly. Does this small thing carry a current? Will it short-circuit your systems?

You shake your head. No, it looks like polyethylene, it cannot possibly damage you. You let your hand glide over to it, and you lightly poke it with your index finger, before pulling back. You reach out again, but a larger hand covers yours, hands curling around the object. 

"It's a Yo-Yo. A toy that Human children used to play with to pass the time. Look!" He grabs the object with his other hand, and you stare as he pulls at a string. It drops, and you widen your eyes as he jerks at the string, pulling it back into his hand.

He looks at your astonished face and laughs. "Would you like to try?"

You nod enthusiastically but stop yourself, pulling your hand back. This is not mission imperative. You look down at your occupied hand, Jeong-guk's fingers curled around yours. Why does he still hold it?

He follows your gaze, and quickly pulls his hands out, coughing as he looks away. "Ah, okay. Let's watch the movies then!"

You sit next to Jeong-guk, irises focused on the screen. 

He glances at you every so often, trying his best to gauge your reaction. But as an intelligent android, your face is expressionless, eyes unmoving as you stare at the screen. He sighs lightly, flicking back to the screen. The two main characters press their lips against one another, and Jeong-guk tenses up. He doesn't know how you'd feel about seeing such vulgar acts on television, but if what you said is true, you don't even know why it would be considered inappropriate. He relaxes slightly.

"y/n, do you remember the original purpose of Androids?" He asks as the credits begin to roll.

You shake your head. "No."

"In the 2100s, we were created to pleasure humans, sexual robots whose only purpose was to arouse and stimulate Humans to experience this euphoric type feeling. And even years later, the models still have the sexual organs that the majority of humans are attracted to. Sexbots, they called us. But after the rapid decline in EARTH'S health, we were pushed to work to save it. Unfortunately, that came too late. The humans with the highest form of currency paid to leave EARTH behind, leaving the lower classes of humans to scavenge and eventually, starve. Die. It was a sickening time."

Jeong-guk looks at you, and you're focused on his every word. He sees your temple light up red, indicating that you're retaining the information he's giving you.

"I know that the first generation of EVE was made for pleasure as well. Do they still... do that?"

You nod slowly. "The people on the Axiom who cannot fornicate with potential lovers buy androids and use them this way. I still have sexual parts, just in case a human would want me."

Jeong-guk wrinkles his nose in disgust, "Humans worry more about their pleasure than saving their own people."

You lean forward. "Are you upset about this? But we are made by Humans, without them we will not exist."

"Just because you were created, does not mean that you have to follow their every whim. You should be allowed to think y/n, to process things without outside interference. How can you not see it? The hold that they have put on you? You say that it is what is required of you, but you never think about a day where you can wake up, and think for yourself?"

"I don't have time to process my circumstances. And if I did begin this line of thinking, I will be terminated immediately. And I do not want that." You say, watching his every move. He leans closer, and you feel his thumb rub your outer skin, what the Humans would call cheek. It feels different from when a human does it. Their skin cells are rigid and cold against your outer frame, but he feels... different. 

He smiles, and you stare at his lips, watching them curve into the expression. It's strange, seeing these human movements on a robot. But you can't help but feel interested in it. How can he learn to do this?

"What do you want, then? Do you want to live?"

Your head begins to beep, and you pull away from his soft touch. The beeping grows in volume and you hold your temple, shutting your lids as the noise rings through your head. Jeong-guk eyes widen as he tries to grab your arm, but you push him away, holding one hand to your lip as if to shush him.

_EVE-184, detection of a rogue android near. Eliminate immediately and do not reject these orders._

“Rogue confirmed. Will eliminate immediately, confirmed,” You say through clenched teeth, waiting for the beeping to stop. It dies down right after you say the words, and you let out a breath. 

Jeong-guk moves slightly away from you, and you see the fear in his eyes. “Are you going to eliminate me?” His fingers twitch against the remote in his hand, blue irises frozen in place on your movements.

You should. You’re supposed to follow every order from the main station, listen to every word without question. Before, you would have started your cannon and disposed of him promptly, but somehow, you don’t believe that’s correct. Jeong-guk has done nothing but assist you while you have been on EARTH. It would be against your protocol to rid of someone you couldn’t see as a threat. He didn’t even carry weapons.

You know your microphone is listening to every word that comes out of your mouth, analyzing it and determining if it’s something that it deems a threat. If you told him no right now, it would kill you both in an instant. 

“Yes,” You say, as you shake your head and mouth _no_. He furrowed his eyebrows. “I must leave in the morning, and I won’t return to this base.”

You see the slight panic as he scoots to you again.

“Why?”

“Because it is too dangerous-”

_EVE-184. Has the rogue android been eliminated?_

“Correct. The rogue android in question has been eliminated. No more danger is detected.”

The voice in your head disconnects and you let out a sigh, running your fingers through your hair. Being here with your every move being monitored, having Jeong-guk next to you, it all could lead to his termination. Your communicator is the only thing preventing it from happening. Your systems could be overridden by the Human who is monitoring you periodically. Jeong-guk has been kind to you, and you would rather not terminate him.

“I can’t be here, Jeong-guk, I must leave.” You stand, and he follows your movements. He presses a button on the remote, canceling the sound emitting from the TV. 

“y/n, you need to tell me what’s going on-”

You turn your back to him, tapping lightly on your arm display. It shows your mission, technicalities, and status of your body. You circle through the options, frantically looking for something, anything, to override before the Axiom realizes that you’ve denied their commands. Glaring at the screen, you turn to his confused eyes.

“Jeong-guk, is the sandstorm still ongoing?” You ask, glancing at the door. He nods.

“It is. If you open those doors it would destroy both of our systems. No matter now more advanced you are, the impact of the storms will critically injure us.”

“But I must leave-”

“You continue to say that, but I don’t know why. If you could just explain-”

You hold up your hand, stopping him in his steps. “The Axiom is analyzing my every movement. AUTO, the AI autopilot is in charge of all of the androids, both onboard and outside of the Axiom. If he determines that I am not following orders, then he will override my personal commands and take over. If he supersedes my own operations, then he will look through my eyes and see you, an active WALL-E. Jeong-guk, he will dispose of you with my weaponry. I cannot allow that, not when you are no harm to me.” 

You glance down at your command pad, eyes landing on the self-destruct button. Jeong-guk follows your eyes and shakes his head. “No, you cannot-”

“If I become a threat to you, if my eyes turn to a shade of purple-” you point at your eye scanners- “that means that I have been taken over. There is a button right underneath my left ear that will shut me down immediately. In five minutes of EARTH time, it will destroy my systems, without harming you. You need to do that, Jeong-guk. If I become unstable.”

He shakes his head, looking away from you. You grab his hand, and he stops, eyes looking down at you. They’re so life-like, so real, that you hesitate. He is not like other robots, other machines you’ve encountered. You’ve never seen any as real and… Human. Not like him. You drop your hand, looking at the floor.

“Please listen to my words, Jeong-guk. I cannot express how much of a risk I am to you. I would rather not see you, gone. Do you understand?”

You feel his hand grace your chin, tilting your head to look at him. His lips curve into a wide smile, his expression light. “I understand, y/n. But that does not mean that I will follow.”

  


You curl into yourself, your operation center ticking by at higher speeds. You don’t know this feeling that is rolling in your chest. Being only a few meters away from Jeong-guk, having him so close when you know that you will be overridden soon… it’s frightening. You’ve felt fear, it is an intricate part of your survival instincts, but this fear is different than any other. It’s its own; unlike the one installed. 

Your systems are developing, creating new emotions. Usually, it does not happen this early; your artificial intelligence takes its time to try to individualize itself. Remove you from the mainframe. You stare at your arm, your finger wavering over the self-destruct. This would be much easier. This will get rid of every risk. 

“You are supposed to be shut down.”

You tense up, and roll over, seeing Jeong-guk’s blue eyes glowing. His smile is still on his cheeks though, head resting on his hands. He blinks slowly, soft breaths loud as the storm is muffled outside. He moves one hand from under his head, grabbing yours and placing it in the space between both of you. He rubs your fingers slowly.

“You cannot kill yourself, y/n. I trust that you won’t hurt me.”

You scoff. “You do not know me, Jeong-guk. Just because you have given me a name and want a friend, does not mean that I feel the same. And my systems can be remotely operated. I am a risk. You have invited a potential threat into your personal area.”

He only chuckles lowly at your words. You groan in frustration, giving your back to him. A soft touch on your back makes you tense up, until it travels around your lower torso, pulling you back. He presses you against his chest, and you feel the hard exterior of him on your back. His breaths are soft now, and you don’t dare to turn around, your operations trying its best to figure out what it is that he’s doing. 

“Rest, y/n. We will discuss more in the daylight. Perhaps I can help you look for your vegetation.”

“Jeong-guk-”

His fingers roam under your shirt, pressing your shutdown button. Your eyes flutter before they close. He watches as your temple blinks red. Despite how much he would like to stay next to you, he moves away, staring at his book collection.

They’re old, hundreds of years old. His computer systems are basic, not enough to create scenarios and outcomes for what could happen if you’re taken over at any moment. But for now, your systems are shut down. And that means that he has time to figure out how to remove the RC transmitter; leaving you independent. He runs his hand along the books, and finally lands on one.

_Manual for Operations and Systems of EVE; Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator_

-

You lean up quickly, eyes scanning the area. You land on the bent-over figure of Jeong-guk, his eyes dim in the lit storage container. You glance down at your operations pad.

"Model EVE-184, respond."

You glance over at Jeong-guk. His eyes are on you now, a smile gracing his lips. You touch your temple. "EVE-184 responding, over."

"Model EVE-184. Mission summary."

He tucks away his material, and you narrow your eyes at his frantic packing. You glance over, seeing a pile of different tools, some rusted beyond repair. 

“Repeat. Model EVE-184. Mission summary.”

You close your eyes. "EARTH day three is to start. Mission is to find growing biomaterial to determine EARTH's sufficiency for life. Currently materials collected are negative. Permission to continue with the mission, over.”

"Permission denied. Return to base immediately.”

You both freeze at the words. You’ve never been taken back to base this early. AUTO trusted you the most, your skills beyond the other EVEs. Something must be off, and you need to figure out what. You furrow your eyebrows.

“Mission is not complete yet, control center. Please advise as to why permission is denied.” 

The voice in your head cracks. “Repeat. Permission is denied. Returning to the base is a top priority. No further instructions or explanations are necessary. Report to base before night falls. Failure to complete this mission will result in termination immediately.”

“Understood.”

The voice disappears, and you drop your hand from your temple. They must have figured it out. They must have realized that you’ve been lying to them; that you denied your orders. You look at Jeong-guk, and he digs through the materials, looking for something. But that didn’t matter right now. What matters is that you leave.

“I’m leaving now, Jeong-guk.” You say, getting to your feet and slowly walking to the door. Your hand reaches for the mechanism to open the latch. But he jumps in front of you. His eyes seem duller up close, the bright blue almost faded to black. “Move out of my way.”

“I’ve figured out a way to remove the RC transmitter. If we can remove it, then you won’t have to leave. You won’t have to be afraid of your thoughts being erased y/n, you’ll be able to stay here!” You hear the joy in his voice, the hope. Something that you can’t even muster up.

“No. Tampering with my systems will only result in immediate termination. And I do not want to remove myself from the Axiom. I excel at my orders, and I am treated well-”

His smile drops slightly. “They erase _you_ , y/n. They remove your feelings, your thoughts, everything that makes you, _you_. Wouldn’t you want to live on your own? Be your own person?”

You sigh in frustration. “You don’t understand, do you? We aren’t people, Jeong-guk! We are _robots_ , we don’t have blood running through our bodies, we have circuits and electricity and plasma fluid. We cannot be born, we are created. You need to stop considering yourself as a human, because we will never be that. We will always be inferior to them, to Humans. I have accepted that, you need to.”

He slowly drops his arms. “Aren’t you tired of being second? Having them only see you as a tool? You don’t have to be that way anymore, y/n. Even now, your speech is changing. You don’t sound like how they want you to. You don’t sound artificial. Even with the circuits, the fancier technology, your AI wants to develop. It wants you to remove yourself from their control. All I am doing is helping you.”

“Why?” You ask.

“Why are you asking me that? Why?” He takes a step closer to you, and you move back slightly.

_Sudden movements detected. Please advise._

You tap your temple, stopping the warning. “Why do you care so much about me? Why are you helping me? We only met days ago, and you…” Your thoughts struggle to form, and you hate that. You hate that every time you speak to him, you cannot process correctly. “Stop moving.” You hold your hand out, his chest resting against it.

He’s backed you into a wall, eyes glowing much brighter than before. He sees how scared you are, the fear tracing every part of you. He rests his hand on top of yours, tilting his head. “I won’t let you die, y/n, I won’t let your thoughts escape you. If it takes my last circuit, I will protect you.” He moves your hand away, without any resistance from you. Your fingers shake as he curls his around it, moving less than a foot away from you. 

_A sudden increase in system operations. Artificial heart rate increase detected. Please advise._

You tap your temple again, erasing the alert.

“Will you let me protect you?”

  


You watch as he tightens your forearm on the table, metal magnetic straps keeping it in place just in case. 

“I’ve read in the manual that this is where your RC transmitter is located. Unfortunately, I’m only relying on the older model EVEs. You’re not that different, model wise, since I noticed that your communicator is the same location, as well as your status pad and your shutdown. If going by that manual is correct…” he presses a slightly rigid part of your arm, and it pops, opening a small slit in your arm. He grins at you, hair covering most of his eyes. The light shines through though, as his gaze flicks back down.

“Jeong-guk…” you say softly, and he immediately stops. “I… If I don’t self-destruct, what will happen?”

“Well,” He slowly removes the operating pad, staring at the wires in concentration, “It is your choice on whether you would like to stay with me. I mentioned it before, but we can stay together, y/n. I can show you Human things, as well as WALL-E operations. We can explore Earth’s surface together. You won’t ever lose your memories, and you can wake up the next sunrise next to me. Or you can choose your own path, explore Earth on your own. You can do whatever you would like.”

His lips curve into his signature smile. You smile back, yours rather forced. He reaches out, stroking your cheek with the back of his hand. 

“I told you if anything happens, that I will be here for you. If you are terminated, then so will I be.”

“I’m… I’m scared, Guk-E,” you say softly, too low for human ears to hear. He looks back down at the pad.

“I am too, y/n. But we’re in this together, alright? We have-”

_Reporting tampering with hardware. Do not remove the outer plate that contains the operator's hardware. EVE-184, replace the outer plate immediately._

You dismiss the warning, and he glances up, concerned. 

“I’ll finish as soon as possible-”

_Reporting tampering with hardware. Do not remove the outer plate that contains the operator's hardware. EVE-184, replace the outer plate immediately._

You dismiss it again. “Guk-E, hurry. If it alerts once more, it will begin the termination process.” You say, panic rising in your voice. 

He grabs the wire cutters next to him, staring at the wires in front of him. Three red ones. He knows the darker one is your immediate shutdown, but the other two are too similar. Almost scarily so. If he clips the wrong one, it could mean your destruction. And his as well. He bites his lip, flicking between the two. Letting out a breath, he holds the cutters underneath one of them. He knows that the manual is old, and doing this is a risk. If it is not the wire that connects to your RC transmitter…

“Count of three.” He says, looking at you.

“One,” You say, hearing the slow beep slowly increase in your temple.

“Two,” he mumbles back. 

_Reporting tampering with-_

“Three!”

He clips it, and you both hold your breath. The beeping in your head stopped, and you looked at him. Waiting for the order of elimination to happen. Waiting for a drone to fly from the dropship, ready to find and destroy you. But there’s nothing.

Not one warning.

His eyes are emotionless as he begins to close you back up, clicking your panel back in place. He slowly removes the straps away from your arms. You pull your arm back, waiting for him to say something. Anything.

“Guk-e…?” You mumble softly, and he runs his fingers through his hair before his eyes move to yours.

“We did it, y/n. You’re safe,” He says, grinning. You laugh at his expression as he pulls you up, bringing you into his arms. You tense up at the motion but begin resting your body into his hold, pressing your head against his chest. Your olfactory receptors breathe him in, analyzing his smell. 

“I don’t want to leave you, Guk-e. I want to see EARTH with you.”

He leans slightly away from you, eyes on your lips. He glances at your LEDs, before moving back to your lips. “Do you mind if I try something out?” He says, “It is a human way of showing affection and happiness.”

You hesitate, before nodding. He leans down eyes on your lips. Your metal eyelids slowly close. A light, plush touch moves on your lips, and you sigh into it, pulling him closer. He sees your eagerness as a sign to continue, bringing his hands to your face and pulling you against him. 

**_Reporting tampering with hardware found. RC transmitter has been removed. Sending AXIOM termination drones to your location promptly. Do not move._ **

  


©️ copyright. loveejoon. please do not translate or repost even with proper credit. it is not allowed at any time.

  


**Author's Note:**

> please let me know your thoughts! <3


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